Display stand

ABSTRACT

A display stand primarily for use in merchandising includes a base, a back affixed to the rear of the base, an articlesupporting element including a frame and a planar element affixed atop said frame and arranged for horizontal adjustment relative to the back so as to vary the supporting surface of said planar element. A front kick panel is interconnected with the base by a lost-motion connection and adjustable feet are disposed on the base whereby adjustment of the base can be effected without imparting vertical movement to the kick plate. A pair of spacedapart vertically disposed elongated elements are telescopically related with corresponding spaced-apart tubular elements forming portions of the back and adjustably secured sign means mounted thereon and securing means holds the sign means in a predetermined position.

ilnited States Patent Melvin C. Bowers, Jr.;

[72] Inventors Joseph ,1. Clement, both 01 Atlanta, Ga. 21 1 Appl. No. 10,523 [22] Filed Feb. 11,1970 [45] Patented Aug. 24, 1971 [73] Assignee The Mead Corporation [54] DISPLAY STAND 6 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.CI 211/1481}, 108/108, 211/176 [51 llnt. Cl A4711 9/14, A471 5/10 [50] Field olsenrch 211/176, 177,148 R, 148 A, 175, 153; 312/257 R, 205; 108/143, 137, 108-109; 248/1885, 124,245; 40/145 R, 145 A [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,802,291 8/1957 Bach et al Primary Examiner-Ramon S. Britts Att0mey-Walter M. Rodgers ABSTRACT: A display stand primarily for use in merchandising includes a base, a back affixed to the rear of the base, an article-supporting element including a frame and a planar element affixed atop said frame and arranged for horizontal adjustment relative to the back so as to vary the supporting surface of said planar element. A front kick panel is interconnected with the base by a lost-motion connection and adjustable feet are disposed on the base whereby adjustment of the base can be effected without imparting vertical movement to the kick plate. A pair of spaced-apart vertically disposed elongated elements are telescopically related with corresponding spaced-apart tubular elements forming portions of the back and adjustably secured sign means mounted thereon and securing means holds the sign means in a predetermined position.

PATENTEB AUGZMSH 3,501, 256

sum 1 OF 2 h M M EJW I3 l2 ll I0 I INVENTORS MEL C. BOW JR. FIG-2 7 J08 J.CLE T AT ORNEY PATENTEDAum |97l 3.601.258 I sum 2 UF 2 A INVENTORS MELVIN c. BOWERS,JR. JOSEPH J. CLEMENT ATTORNEY DISPLAY STAND Articles which are offered for sale at the retail level such as soft drinks and the like ordinarily are packaged in a variety of sizes of primary packages such as bottles or cans. Furthermore secondary packages including a plurality of primary packages may incorporate varying numbers of primary packages.

In order to adapt a display device for various space requirements, it is desirable to provide a display stand in which the effective supporting surface area of the base may be varied, in which the vertical spacing of shelves mounted on the back of the stand may be changed. Sign structure normally mounted atop the back must be adjustable vertically so as to render the sign visible irrespective of the particular height of the topmost displayed articles.

According to this invention, the base of a display stand is constructed in such manner that it may be varied by simply adjusting the supporting structure in a forward or rearward direction. A kick plate formed inthe front end of the base is arranged so that it always rests on the floor irrespective of the angle of tilt or of the adjustment of adjustable feet mounted on the base. Furthermore, display means mounted atop the back of the stand is arranged for vertical adjustment thereby to accommodate a wide variety of space conditions ordinarily encountered in connection with the merchandising of consumer articles on display stands mounted in retail outlets.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a display stand constructed according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic fragmentary view taken generally along the line designated 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 2A is a schematic end view of the lower portion of a display stand constructed according to the invention and which depicts the article-supporting element in its rearmost position whereby a minimum of exposed supporting surface area is provided;

FIG. 2B is a view similar to FIG. 2A but which shows the stand with its maximum effective supporting area disposed, i.e., with the article-supporting element in its most forward position;

FIG. 3 is a view partially broken away of the base and of the supporting structure of the invention and which depicts the manner in which a particular position of the supporting structure is determined and maintained;

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective rear view of a part of the top portion of the back of the display stand and which shows the sign structure and its relationship to the back of the stand;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line designated 5-5 in FIG. 4 and in which FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the inside of one corner of the base of the device and which depicts the manner in which the kick plate is slidably affixed to the front of the base.

In the drawings, the numeral 1 generally designates the base while the numeral 2 generally designates the article-supporting element constructed according to the invention. The numeral 3 generally designates the back atop which sign structure is mounted and designated generally by the numeral 4.

The base comprises a pair of sideplates 5 and 6 and a front kick plate 7. A plurality of adjustable feet are threaded into the flange 8 of each of the sideplates 5 and 6 as best shows in FIG. 6, the foot in that view being designated by the numeral 9. It will be understood that adjustable feet are utilized in connection with the flanges of both ofthe sideplates 5 and 6.

The article-supporting element 2 comprises a frame structure including transverse support beams 10-13 which are welded or otherwise secured to side beams 14 only one of which is visible in the drawings. Mounted atop the frame structure and secured thereto by any suitable means is a planar element generally designated by the numeral 15. This planar element includes side flanges l6 and 17 and a downturned front-bevelled flange l8 constructed in any suitable manner.

The article-supporting element 2 according to a feature of the invention may be adjusted forwardly and rearwardly by means of disjointable positioning means which includes an open positioning slot 19 defined by a pair of upwardly extending slot tabs 20 and 21 integral with horizontal part 5A of sideplate 5.

As is apparent in FIG. 2A for example, the article-supporting element is in its rearmost position when transverse support beam 10 is disposed in the open slot 19 during which condition the supporting element affords minimum supporting surface area in front of the back structure 3. 0n the other hand and as is apparent from FIG. 28, when the article support element 2 is elevated at its front edge and moved toward the right to cause the transverse support beam 11 to occupy the open slot 19, a maximum supporting area is provided according to a feature of the invention.

The back structure of the stand comprises central back panels such as are designated by the numerals 22 and 23 in FIG. 1 and a pair of spaced-apart vertically disposed tubular elements 24 and 25 which are rigidly secured as by welding or otherwise to the base 1. Of course central plates 22 and 23 are affixed to tubular elements 24 and 25 by any suitable means such as by screws, bolts, rivets and the like.

The tubular elements such as 24 and 25 are of identical construction. As is best shown in FIG. 5, tubular element 25 comprises a tube 26 of generally rectangular cross-sectional configuration in which a slot 27 is formed on one side. Inwardly extending internal flanges 28 and 29 are disposed at an acute angle to the associated wall of the hollow tube 26. A channel member 30 is mounted within the tube 26 and is provided with a pair of outwardly bevelled flanges 31 and 32 which as shown in FIG. 5 are held in secure engagement with the internal flanges 28 and 29 by means of a manually operated setscrew 33 which is threadedly related with one wall of the tubular element 26, the pressure exerted by setscrew 33 being effective to force the vertically disposed element 34 into flat face-contacting relationship with the base portion 35 of channel 30 thereby to secure the vertical element 34 against up-and-down movement. In like fashion, vertical element 34A is adjustably mounted within the elongated tubular element 24. Disposed between and interconnected with the upper end of vertical elongated elements 34 and 34A is a sign structure generally designated by the numeral 36.

From the description above it is apparent that sign structure 36 may be elevated and lowered as conditions may require.

As shown in the drawings, conventional shelves 37 and 38 are mounted to the tubular elements 24 and 25. These shelves are mounted by conventional hooks not shown in the drawings which are inserted into a desired slot such as is indicated at 39 in tubular element 24 and at 40 in tubular element 25. At the ends of shelf 37, suitable guards such as are indicated at 41, 42, 43 and 44 are provided to prevent displayed items from sliding off shelf 37 in a sidewise direction. In like fashion, guard rails 45, 46, 47 and 48 are mounted at the ends of shelf 38.

From the description above it is apparent that the adjustability of the base whereby the area thereof may be varied together with the vertical adjustment of shelves such as 37 and 38 render the device readily adaptable for a wide variety of sizes and shapes of primary packages and of associated secondary packages if such secondary packages are displayed. Furthermore, the stand is adaptable for use in displaying both secondary packages and primary packages simultaneously. With such a variety of shapes and sizes accommodated, it follows that the topmost portions of the upper topmost displayed items necessarily occupy positions at levels which vary considerably. Thus according to a feature of the invention, the sign structure 36 is adjustable vertically so that it may be observed no matter what styles, types, sizes or shapes of articles are displayed on the stand.

Furthermore, according to another feature of the invention, the kick plate 7 is arranged so as to rest on the floor at all times irrespective of the particular adjustment of the feet such as are designated by the numerals 9 and 9A. This particular feature is accommodated by the fact that the end plate 7 as best shown in FIG. 6 is provided with an end flange on which a pair of holding tabs 51 and 52 are formed. Tabs 51 and 52 are disposed in a plane parallel to end plate 7 and are separated by a slot designated by the numeral 53. Furthermore, a holding plate 54 is welded or otherwise secured to the inner surface of the sideplate 6 near the front end thereof. Element 54 is provided with a plate 55 which is disposed in normal relationship to the plane of the associated end wall and a pair of backturned holding flanges designated by the numerals 56 and 57 are formed along the edge of plate 55. Thus with kick plate 7 elevated slightly from the level of the floor, flange portion 51 is disposed at a level slightly above element 56 and element 56 is allowed to pass through the slot 53 disposed between flanges 51 and 52. Element 52 passes between elements 56 and 57 until elements 51 and 53 are disposed in back of the holding portion of elements 56 and 57. The kick plate is then lowered so that it is then held in place by the back-tumed portions of elements 56 and 57 as best shown in FIG. 6. It is apparent that the kick plate 7 is mounted on the base structure by a lost-motion connection which accommodates relative vertical movement between the base and the kick plate. Thus as the feet such as 9 are adjusted for whatever reason, the kick plate 7 is allowed to remain with its lower edge portion resting on the floor. Thus the kick plate 7 never provides a clearance space below its lower edge and thus prevents foreign objects from becoming lodged under the kick plate. Furthermore the appearance of the base of the stand is substantially and significantly enhanced by the lost-motion connection between the base and the kick plate.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A display stand comprising a base, a back affixed to the rear of said base, an article-supporting element mounted on said base and including a frame structure and a planar element affixed atop said frame structure, the depth of said article-supporting element being considerably greater than that of said base and the lower portion of said back being arranged to receive slidably the rear portion of said article-supporting element, whereby said article-supporting element may extend rearwardly beyond said back, and disjointable positioning means formed in said base and in said article-supporting structure for selectively determining the disposition of said articlesupporting structure relative to said back thereby to determine the exposed supporting surface area and capacity of said planar element.

2. A display stand according to claim 1 wherein said back comprises a pair of spaced-apart vertically disposed elements and wherein a sign structure including a pair of vertically disposed spaced-apart elongated elements is mounted atop said back with the spaced vertical elements of said back and of said sign structure being adjustably and telescopically interrelated with each other respectively.

3. A display stand according to claim 1 wherein said disjointable positioning means comprises open slot means formed in the upper part of said base and selectively engageable with one of a plurality of transverse spaced-apart support beams forming parts of said frame structure for determining the part of said planar element which is disposed in front of said back and thus available for supporting articles to be displayed.

4. A display stand according to claim 1 wherein vertically adjustable feet are mounted on said base and wherein a front kick plate is mounted on the front of said base by a lost-motion connection whereby relative vertical movement of said kick plate and of said base is accommodated so as to allow said base to be elevated without imparting vertical movement to said kick plate.

5. A display stand comprising a base, a back including a pair of transversely spaced vertically disposed tubular elements affixed to said base and central panel means mounted on said tubular elements and extending therebetween, each of said tubular elements comprising a hollow tube of rectangular cross section having a slot along one side with internal flanges along the edges of said slot and a channel disposed within said tube and having a base panel with outwardly bevelled flanges in engagement with said internal flanges whereby the base panel forms a closure for said slot, an article-supporting element mounted on said base and arranged to receive thereon and to support items to be displayed, a plurality of shelves adapted for attachment along their rear edges to said back, said shelves being adjustable vertically so as to vary the vertical spacing therebetween, a pair of vertically disposed spaced-apart elongated elements, sign panel means mounted on said elongated elements and extending therebetween, said elongated elements being telescopically related with said tubular elements whereby the height of said sign means may be adjusted, and means for securing said elongated and said tubular elements in fixed relation to each other.

6. A display stand according to claim 5 wherein each of said elongated elements is slidably disposed within one of said hollow tubes with a surface thereof forced into engagement with the base panel of said channel and with a setscrew threadedly related with a wall of said tube opposite from the slotted wall thereofso that said setscrew effectively holds each of said base panels in close contact with the associated elongated element when tightened. 

1. A display stand comprising a base, a back affixed to the rear of said base, an article-supporting element mounted on said base and including a frame structure and a planar element affixed atop saId frame structure, the depth of said article-supporting element being considerably greater than that of said base and the lower portion of said back being arranged to receive slidably the rear portion of said article-supporting element, whereby said article-supporting element may extend rearwardly beyond said back, and disjointable positioning means formed in said base and in said article-supporting structure for selectively determining the disposition of said article-supporting structure relative to said back thereby to determine the exposed supporting surface area and capacity of said planar element.
 2. A display stand according to claim 1 wherein said back comprises a pair of spaced-apart vertically disposed elements and wherein a sign structure including a pair of vertically disposed spaced-apart elongated elements is mounted atop said back with the spaced vertical elements of said back and of said sign structure being adjustably and telescopically interrelated with each other respectively.
 3. A display stand according to claim 1 wherein said disjointable positioning means comprises open slot means formed in the upper part of said base and selectively engageable with one of a plurality of transverse spaced-apart support beams forming parts of said frame structure for determining the part of said planar element which is disposed in front of said back and thus available for supporting articles to be displayed.
 4. A display stand according to claim 1 wherein vertically adjustable feet are mounted on said base and wherein a front kick plate is mounted on the front of said base by a lost-motion connection whereby relative vertical movement of said kick plate and of said base is accommodated so as to allow said base to be elevated without imparting vertical movement to said kick plate.
 5. A display stand comprising a base, a back including a pair of transversely spaced vertically disposed tubular elements affixed to said base and central panel means mounted on said tubular elements and extending therebetween, each of said tubular elements comprising a hollow tube of rectangular cross section having a slot along one side with internal flanges along the edges of said slot and a channel disposed within said tube and having a base panel with outwardly bevelled flanges in engagement with said internal flanges whereby the base panel forms a closure for said slot, an article-supporting element mounted on said base and arranged to receive thereon and to support items to be displayed, a plurality of shelves adapted for attachment along their rear edges to said back, said shelves being adjustable vertically so as to vary the vertical spacing therebetween, a pair of vertically disposed spaced-apart elongated elements, sign panel means mounted on said elongated elements and extending therebetween, said elongated elements being telescopically related with said tubular elements whereby the height of said sign means may be adjusted, and means for securing said elongated and said tubular elements in fixed relation to each other.
 6. A display stand according to claim 5 wherein each of said elongated elements is slidably disposed within one of said hollow tubes with a surface thereof forced into engagement with the base panel of said channel and with a setscrew threadedly related with a wall of said tube opposite from the slotted wall thereof so that said setscrew effectively holds each of said base panels in close contact with the associated elongated element when tightened. 